There has been a quite a bit in the paper about Mr. Basil Jackson over the past few days. Mr. Jackson held many offices, walked in the high circles of the financial world and no doubt could be called a pillar of the community. Mr. Jackson also had another side. He did look after those of us who needed some help and he did help many of us buy our homes.
Had it not have been for Mr. Jackson’s help my wife and I might not have been able to purchase our first home many years ago. We were young, didn’t have one of those famed pots, and with a little one on the way we needed a small home. Mr. Jackson personally saw to it that we could buy that home. That wasn’t the only time he helped. Over the years he never forgot us and was always very nice each and every time we saw him. I should have thanked him a million times.
June sure flew by in a hurry. It seems like it has only been a few days since May. Now we are looking toward the Fourth of July. Every year I say that by the time I’m ready for summer, it’s over. Summer is my favorite season. However, the older I get spring seems to be gaining ground. But then there are those beautiful summer mornings and warm summer nights.
“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken,” said James Dent.
The sidewalk on U.S. Route 52 in Bramwell has finally been repaired. A portion of the walk was removed to replace a failed pipe. Then for months (or has it been years) the walk was not replaced. The West Virginia Department of Highways, or someone, eventually made the repairs to return the walk to service. Thanks.
Now, if the state would just see fit to shovel up all those tons of winter abrasives that have accumulated on the walks and bridge on U.S. 52 in Freeman, the highway would look a lot nicer.
The West Virginia DOH has completed paving a major portion of Interstate 77 here in Mercer County. The highway is now smooth and very nice to drive on. The paving included both northbound and southbound lanes, ramps and exits between Ingleside and the tunnel through East River Mountain. The West Virginia turnpike has also paved a portion of the toll road that was in poor condition near Beckley
It just occurred to me that this year would be the 75th anniversary for the class of 1936 for Bramwell High School. There were 24 members of the Class of ’36: Nannie Bennett, Alexander Bertok, Earl Davis, Eva Falls, Class President Raymond Gross, Edith Harris, Paul Haynes, Class Secretary Lillian Hill, Margaret Hill, Class Vice President Harry Johnson, John Karnes, William Kuhary, Cavil Linkous, Margaret Lowe, Verl Mahaffey, Dorothy Osborne, Margaret Poteet, Lacy Sexton, Lillian Stanger, Dorothy Tabor, Nancy Tate and Marie Wilson. Some of us may remember some of these folks. The class was also the first graduating class for Bramwell’s legendary principal Mr. Dwight W. McCormick who remained principal until 1968.
“GPS may soon work everywhere in the world except in the United States.” I had to take a second look when I read that. We surely do not want those great little navigators that help us drive across country or find some address nearby to become useless, and that is exactly what some experts are predicting. It seems that the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) granted a “waiver” to a major broadband provider to operate a terrestrial (land) component within the same L-band range in which GPS has operated for the last 30 years. What is happening is that the government is sacrificing GPS as acceptable collateral damage for improved broadband. Some believe that the interference threat is real and will likely render most GPS systems useless.
2011年6月29日星期三
'Brand activation builds brand identity,' 3M Executive tells Vega
"Continuous interaction with consumers will increase their brand awareness and consumer loyalty. A culture of continuous innovation will elevate your brand to be the one preferred within the market. Clever brand activation will set you apart from the vast competition." This is the powerful message from guest-speaker Peter Leonard, 3M Global Market Development Manager, during a special address to Vega's Executives last Thursday.
Peter Leonard, 3M Global Market Development Manager (left), Lee Menzies, 3M, and Gordon Cook, Vega National Brand Navigator (right)
Leonard's message relates to 3M and their technological-savvy and innovative use of materials through a wide spectrum within the industry to help companies build a brand identity that will increase in awareness and interact with consumers on an aesthetic and emotional level.
Leonard's message can be encapsulated as follows:
It is no news that 3M is a corporation that holds a leading market position with "innovation technology for a changing world". In the market for over 107 years, 3M has managed to turn over $12 billion through 75 000 different products. What's their secret? The company focuses over a broad spectrum: from health care to office products and abrasives and adhesives, but still make sure that the product lifestyles are of a high standard by understanding the need of the customer. This makes 3M the third leading brand in the world - with Apple and Google being ahead of them.
The concept of innovation has now come to the stage where continuously using it as a point of differentiation within the industry is in danger of being a cliché. Peter Leonard confirms that this is not the case for 3M within the global market by stating that 3M uses powerful, dynamic and effective media solutions by emphasising a scientific basis within the global markets. 3M media solutions focus innovative thinking through keeping up with technological developments and implementing and investing in these new effective and efficient sources.
Along with techno-savvy characteristics, the changing audience behaviours and their needs are important aspects to consider when branding products. A good and keen strategy needs to take these elements into consideration to create an integrated, holistic and supportive model that will make your brand obtain that wow-factor and give a dramatic impact to all audiences. This is the point of difference.
3M aims to make the lives of consumers easier. Nowadays people do not have the time to go out and look for news about a product that makes their life easier, so through marketing research 3M have found that through the relationship between online and urban areas, cities are 60% of the gateway to successful advertising and increasing the awareness of a brand. 3M realised that outdoor media is the only true mass media these days as majority of audiences are moving towards the online realm. Media fragmentation and disruption is high on the increase, therefore it is important to strategise and implement a model that includes and focuses on both the offline marketing as well as the online marketing. This is the model that will ultimately make your brand integrated, holistic and supportive and dispose of any one-dimensional characteristics.
3M came up with brand solutions and brand activations that communicate a particular brand message with a decorative and very aesthetically pleasing approach. This will definitely help protect a brand or build up more brand awareness, if executed correctly and attentive to all details. A corporate identity must always be renovated smartly and never lose the initial brand essence. By doing so, the brand keeps its consistency and remains sustainable. Brand activations are a smart way for 3M to 'update' a brand's corporate identity, especially for mass-market firms. Dynamic and innovative ways are incorporated to customise rear projections, retro-fitting interiors, which gives way for a graphical imagery with an architectural finish - a great return on investment for a brand.
Through the incorporation of main material technologies, 3M manage to personalise and implement innovative brand solutions for mass-market brands. A good example is the retro-fitting interiors in the BP bathrooms. The idea behind this visual identity is the customer journey. A customer drives through different, beautiful landscapes, stops at a BP and sees a beautiful shop interior and then wants to use the bathroom. 3M introduced that the toilet is the last impression a consumer will have of the place, so why stop at the shop? Because as we all know, mud sticks and by incorporating a great visual within the bathroom though great use of light the customer will leave with a great, and more hygienic, idea of the place and an environmentally friendly feeling (this, of course, was before the Gulf of Mexico debacle).
Peter Leonard, 3M Global Market Development Manager (left), Lee Menzies, 3M, and Gordon Cook, Vega National Brand Navigator (right)
Leonard's message relates to 3M and their technological-savvy and innovative use of materials through a wide spectrum within the industry to help companies build a brand identity that will increase in awareness and interact with consumers on an aesthetic and emotional level.
Leonard's message can be encapsulated as follows:
It is no news that 3M is a corporation that holds a leading market position with "innovation technology for a changing world". In the market for over 107 years, 3M has managed to turn over $12 billion through 75 000 different products. What's their secret? The company focuses over a broad spectrum: from health care to office products and abrasives and adhesives, but still make sure that the product lifestyles are of a high standard by understanding the need of the customer. This makes 3M the third leading brand in the world - with Apple and Google being ahead of them.
The concept of innovation has now come to the stage where continuously using it as a point of differentiation within the industry is in danger of being a cliché. Peter Leonard confirms that this is not the case for 3M within the global market by stating that 3M uses powerful, dynamic and effective media solutions by emphasising a scientific basis within the global markets. 3M media solutions focus innovative thinking through keeping up with technological developments and implementing and investing in these new effective and efficient sources.
Along with techno-savvy characteristics, the changing audience behaviours and their needs are important aspects to consider when branding products. A good and keen strategy needs to take these elements into consideration to create an integrated, holistic and supportive model that will make your brand obtain that wow-factor and give a dramatic impact to all audiences. This is the point of difference.
3M aims to make the lives of consumers easier. Nowadays people do not have the time to go out and look for news about a product that makes their life easier, so through marketing research 3M have found that through the relationship between online and urban areas, cities are 60% of the gateway to successful advertising and increasing the awareness of a brand. 3M realised that outdoor media is the only true mass media these days as majority of audiences are moving towards the online realm. Media fragmentation and disruption is high on the increase, therefore it is important to strategise and implement a model that includes and focuses on both the offline marketing as well as the online marketing. This is the model that will ultimately make your brand integrated, holistic and supportive and dispose of any one-dimensional characteristics.
3M came up with brand solutions and brand activations that communicate a particular brand message with a decorative and very aesthetically pleasing approach. This will definitely help protect a brand or build up more brand awareness, if executed correctly and attentive to all details. A corporate identity must always be renovated smartly and never lose the initial brand essence. By doing so, the brand keeps its consistency and remains sustainable. Brand activations are a smart way for 3M to 'update' a brand's corporate identity, especially for mass-market firms. Dynamic and innovative ways are incorporated to customise rear projections, retro-fitting interiors, which gives way for a graphical imagery with an architectural finish - a great return on investment for a brand.
Through the incorporation of main material technologies, 3M manage to personalise and implement innovative brand solutions for mass-market brands. A good example is the retro-fitting interiors in the BP bathrooms. The idea behind this visual identity is the customer journey. A customer drives through different, beautiful landscapes, stops at a BP and sees a beautiful shop interior and then wants to use the bathroom. 3M introduced that the toilet is the last impression a consumer will have of the place, so why stop at the shop? Because as we all know, mud sticks and by incorporating a great visual within the bathroom though great use of light the customer will leave with a great, and more hygienic, idea of the place and an environmentally friendly feeling (this, of course, was before the Gulf of Mexico debacle).
2011年6月26日星期日
Standalone paintmaker finds extra gloss
So much so that an empty 10-litre paint container doubles as a rubbish bin reception at the company's HQ, a tapered modernistic structure in southeast Melbourne decked out in a pastel (a Dulux product of course) called coppersmith.
And don't even think of attempting the "dull as watching paint dry" line on chief executive Pat Houlihan, who proudly points to labs of white-coated chemists, part of a cohort of 80 seeking the next generation of more durable and vibrant coatings.
Dulux has proved a surprisingly high-gloss package since its July 2010 demerger from Orica and separate listing, with investors applauding its inaugural first-half (March) earnings announcement in May.
As for Houlihan, the 43-year-old Geelong Football Club tragic is palpably enjoying being liberated from the explosives-oriented mothership.
"We were just over 10 per cent of Orica -- we were pretty much off the radar (to investors)," he says. "As we have come out on our own, people are starting to get the opportunity to understand what drives our business and make their investment decision."
A key tenet to this greater appreciation is that Dulux's offerings -- spanning not just paint but the Selleys (adhesives, car care and such) and Yates (garden-care) ranges -- are not linked to the whims of the housing cycle.
Rather, Houlihan sees Dulux -- which has no listed equivalent since Wattyl was bought out by US paint maker Valspar last year -- as the "slow-moving equivalent of a fast-moving consumer goods company".
About 75 per cent of Dulux's revenues are exposed to existing homes, with only 10 per cent dependent on new houses.
Investors thought paint was a building product and had all the strengths and weaknesses of that sector, Houlihan says. "They (investors) are starting to see we are not classified in the same bucket as a building products company. We don't see big peaks in terms of the economic upswings, nor do we see big troughs."
With an overall 40 per cent share of the paint market, Dulux enjoys unassailed dominance of the paint sector, not only through its eponymous brand but names such as British Paints, Cabots and Berger.
Overall, the paint sector is a mature one that pitches to a consumer audience that won't readily embrace change. Despite attempts at packaging innovation, daubers still prefer the messy old-fashioned paint pots. But after a period of stability, the competitive dynamics of the sector are poised for a radical shake-up as Masters, Woolworths-Lowes' big-box hardware chain, takes on incumbent Bunnings.
"Clearly they wanted to have our brands in there, and clearly on that premise we wanted to be in there and we will be in there," Houlihan says.
But Woolies' aggressive challenge to Wesfarmers' Bunnings also means a diplomatic balancing act for Dulux, as it earns 30 per cent of local revenue from its ubiquitous green warehouses.
In a sign that this balance of business won't change in a hurry, Dulux has seen off the threat of Nippon Paints, which had been available exclusively via Bunnings as the chain's de facto house brand.
Bunnings is also in the process of "de-ranging" Wattyl paints and the products of Selleys' rivals H.B. Fuller and Bostick. "Bunnings is our single largest customer and we have had a fantastic long-term relationship," he says.
Houlihan says Dulux doesn't intend to play favourites with its four core brands (Dulux paint, Cabots stains and the Selleys/Yates range), which will be available in all retail and trade channels.
But in the case of non-core brands, Dulux is open to exclusive deals to support its key partners. British Paints are sold only in Bunnings while Berger is largely exclusive to 3D Inspirations Paint and Colour.
Globally, Houlihan says, foreign entrants have struggled in an inherently parochial market.
"Successful paint companies are strong regional players, first and foremost," he says.
"(Nippon Paints) didn't build a factory because they wanted to prove their model -- that they could develop their business from scratch -- which turned out not to be the case."
Houlihan says Dulux has also seen off threats from US paint brand Benjamin Moore -- owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway -- and India Paints.
Main rival Wattyl still struggles under Valspar's ownership, but Taubmans (owned by US group PPG) has lifted its share.
Not that sector big-daddy status has prevented other big suppliers from wilting in the face of Woolworths' and Wesfarmers' pricing power (think Goodman Fielder or Foster's).
Houlihan believes Dulux enjoys an advantage in that it has had harmonious relations with both chains as a supplier of its non-paint products.
"Selleys and Yates have always had a relationship with the grocery channels, including Metcash (which has an alliance with Mitre 10). As they go into hardware we know how to deal with grocers in terms of supply chain capability and account management."
Houlihan adds that the Selleys arm shouldn't be underrated in terms of injecting operational nous. "It's a business that can manage complexity well," he says.
"It has a supply chain funnelled in from 30 countries and it also makes at least half of the stuff domestically (30 per cent offshore)."
Still, consumers and investors would be forgiven for seeing Dulux as a paint company: one-third of sales come from retail paint and a further third from tradies (through 70 trade stores and 150 agency agreements).
A further 15 per cent comes from industrial-style coatings, such as those constantly applied to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Offshore (non-Australian/NZ) revenues account for 5 per cent of the total and are the most obvious source of growth.
A decade ago, Orica established a beachhead in Hong Kong and in late 2008, Orica bought the Shanghai-based woodcare business Opel, which delivered 750 useful distribution points. Currently, all the products sold by Dulux in China are sent from Australia, "but over time, as we grow our business offshore, it gives us the flexibility to put in some manufacturing investment".
And don't even think of attempting the "dull as watching paint dry" line on chief executive Pat Houlihan, who proudly points to labs of white-coated chemists, part of a cohort of 80 seeking the next generation of more durable and vibrant coatings.
Dulux has proved a surprisingly high-gloss package since its July 2010 demerger from Orica and separate listing, with investors applauding its inaugural first-half (March) earnings announcement in May.
As for Houlihan, the 43-year-old Geelong Football Club tragic is palpably enjoying being liberated from the explosives-oriented mothership.
"We were just over 10 per cent of Orica -- we were pretty much off the radar (to investors)," he says. "As we have come out on our own, people are starting to get the opportunity to understand what drives our business and make their investment decision."
A key tenet to this greater appreciation is that Dulux's offerings -- spanning not just paint but the Selleys (adhesives, car care and such) and Yates (garden-care) ranges -- are not linked to the whims of the housing cycle.
Rather, Houlihan sees Dulux -- which has no listed equivalent since Wattyl was bought out by US paint maker Valspar last year -- as the "slow-moving equivalent of a fast-moving consumer goods company".
About 75 per cent of Dulux's revenues are exposed to existing homes, with only 10 per cent dependent on new houses.
Investors thought paint was a building product and had all the strengths and weaknesses of that sector, Houlihan says. "They (investors) are starting to see we are not classified in the same bucket as a building products company. We don't see big peaks in terms of the economic upswings, nor do we see big troughs."
With an overall 40 per cent share of the paint market, Dulux enjoys unassailed dominance of the paint sector, not only through its eponymous brand but names such as British Paints, Cabots and Berger.
Overall, the paint sector is a mature one that pitches to a consumer audience that won't readily embrace change. Despite attempts at packaging innovation, daubers still prefer the messy old-fashioned paint pots. But after a period of stability, the competitive dynamics of the sector are poised for a radical shake-up as Masters, Woolworths-Lowes' big-box hardware chain, takes on incumbent Bunnings.
"Clearly they wanted to have our brands in there, and clearly on that premise we wanted to be in there and we will be in there," Houlihan says.
But Woolies' aggressive challenge to Wesfarmers' Bunnings also means a diplomatic balancing act for Dulux, as it earns 30 per cent of local revenue from its ubiquitous green warehouses.
In a sign that this balance of business won't change in a hurry, Dulux has seen off the threat of Nippon Paints, which had been available exclusively via Bunnings as the chain's de facto house brand.
Bunnings is also in the process of "de-ranging" Wattyl paints and the products of Selleys' rivals H.B. Fuller and Bostick. "Bunnings is our single largest customer and we have had a fantastic long-term relationship," he says.
Houlihan says Dulux doesn't intend to play favourites with its four core brands (Dulux paint, Cabots stains and the Selleys/Yates range), which will be available in all retail and trade channels.
But in the case of non-core brands, Dulux is open to exclusive deals to support its key partners. British Paints are sold only in Bunnings while Berger is largely exclusive to 3D Inspirations Paint and Colour.
Globally, Houlihan says, foreign entrants have struggled in an inherently parochial market.
"Successful paint companies are strong regional players, first and foremost," he says.
"(Nippon Paints) didn't build a factory because they wanted to prove their model -- that they could develop their business from scratch -- which turned out not to be the case."
Houlihan says Dulux has also seen off threats from US paint brand Benjamin Moore -- owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway -- and India Paints.
Main rival Wattyl still struggles under Valspar's ownership, but Taubmans (owned by US group PPG) has lifted its share.
Not that sector big-daddy status has prevented other big suppliers from wilting in the face of Woolworths' and Wesfarmers' pricing power (think Goodman Fielder or Foster's).
Houlihan believes Dulux enjoys an advantage in that it has had harmonious relations with both chains as a supplier of its non-paint products.
"Selleys and Yates have always had a relationship with the grocery channels, including Metcash (which has an alliance with Mitre 10). As they go into hardware we know how to deal with grocers in terms of supply chain capability and account management."
Houlihan adds that the Selleys arm shouldn't be underrated in terms of injecting operational nous. "It's a business that can manage complexity well," he says.
"It has a supply chain funnelled in from 30 countries and it also makes at least half of the stuff domestically (30 per cent offshore)."
Still, consumers and investors would be forgiven for seeing Dulux as a paint company: one-third of sales come from retail paint and a further third from tradies (through 70 trade stores and 150 agency agreements).
A further 15 per cent comes from industrial-style coatings, such as those constantly applied to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Offshore (non-Australian/NZ) revenues account for 5 per cent of the total and are the most obvious source of growth.
A decade ago, Orica established a beachhead in Hong Kong and in late 2008, Orica bought the Shanghai-based woodcare business Opel, which delivered 750 useful distribution points. Currently, all the products sold by Dulux in China are sent from Australia, "but over time, as we grow our business offshore, it gives us the flexibility to put in some manufacturing investment".
Katy Perry plays candy-coated show at Mohegan Sun Arena
Never one for subtlety, Katy Perry’s California Dreams tour turned the Mohegan Sun Arena into a giant, living Candyland Saturday.
The performer wasn’t so much Katy Perry as “Katy Perry,” a pop star amalgam of batting eyelashes, cotton candy and Crayola’s classic 8. The persona was in full effect, from the costumes with moving parts to the trippy, cartoon-laced videos. Every second of her almost-2-hour show was crafted to reinforce the story — she even pretended to faint and had a plainclothed roadie carry her offstage.
But that hard-candy precision also enables her to pull off a pop spectacular. She took concert classics and pumped up the volume. Lights were flashier. The requisite bubbles were filled with fog, so that when they popped, they left a wisp of color behind. And onstage costume quick-changing during “Hot & Cold” pulled off a clever trick as well — her last dress swap was aided only by two bagfuls of glitter.
Even if you’re not a fan, you’ll never be bored.
Perry frequently gets criticism for being a weak singer, a note she’s clearly taken to heart. For most of the show, she was in control of her singing: solid, if not stellar. As the night wore on, she got breathier, but she played to her strengths and mostly stuck to her lower range. She even threw out a few impressive runs, the best of which was located, puzzlingly, in a cover of Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair.”
She saved “Firework,” one of her biggest hits, for her closer. It was smart setlist design, saving the anthem to end the show, but by then she was vocally tired. The song came out patchy at best, and was frequently flat-out off key. She also didn’t gain by coming through town a few weeks after the Glee tour, which used the same song to much better effect.
But volume covers a multitude of sins. Rough vocal moments were masked by overly loud backing band, occasionally pumped so high you could barely make out Perry’s singing. Her backup singers were often rendered useless.
Despite the pretense of the show, there was one legitimate goof. The night ended with an encore of her monster hit “California Gurls,” a song as frothy as the foam she tried to shoot out onto the audience. Her cannon malfunctioned, and a dancer tried to fix it, but Perry didn’t waste a second. She ran backstage, swiped a backup singer’s cannon, yanked it out to the edge of the stage and turned it on the screaming crowd
The performer wasn’t so much Katy Perry as “Katy Perry,” a pop star amalgam of batting eyelashes, cotton candy and Crayola’s classic 8. The persona was in full effect, from the costumes with moving parts to the trippy, cartoon-laced videos. Every second of her almost-2-hour show was crafted to reinforce the story — she even pretended to faint and had a plainclothed roadie carry her offstage.
But that hard-candy precision also enables her to pull off a pop spectacular. She took concert classics and pumped up the volume. Lights were flashier. The requisite bubbles were filled with fog, so that when they popped, they left a wisp of color behind. And onstage costume quick-changing during “Hot & Cold” pulled off a clever trick as well — her last dress swap was aided only by two bagfuls of glitter.
Even if you’re not a fan, you’ll never be bored.
Perry frequently gets criticism for being a weak singer, a note she’s clearly taken to heart. For most of the show, she was in control of her singing: solid, if not stellar. As the night wore on, she got breathier, but she played to her strengths and mostly stuck to her lower range. She even threw out a few impressive runs, the best of which was located, puzzlingly, in a cover of Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair.”
She saved “Firework,” one of her biggest hits, for her closer. It was smart setlist design, saving the anthem to end the show, but by then she was vocally tired. The song came out patchy at best, and was frequently flat-out off key. She also didn’t gain by coming through town a few weeks after the Glee tour, which used the same song to much better effect.
But volume covers a multitude of sins. Rough vocal moments were masked by overly loud backing band, occasionally pumped so high you could barely make out Perry’s singing. Her backup singers were often rendered useless.
Despite the pretense of the show, there was one legitimate goof. The night ended with an encore of her monster hit “California Gurls,” a song as frothy as the foam she tried to shoot out onto the audience. Her cannon malfunctioned, and a dancer tried to fix it, but Perry didn’t waste a second. She ran backstage, swiped a backup singer’s cannon, yanked it out to the edge of the stage and turned it on the screaming crowd
2011年6月22日星期三
Tata Steel partnership yields solar girders
Steel giant Tata Steel has partnered with Australian solar developer Dyesol to producer a steel girder coated with solar panels, both companies announced this week.
The prototype girder was made as one continuous length of coated steel 10 feet long that can capture both direct and diffuse light. The solar cells were "printed" directly onto the steel as opposed to being a composite of multiple cells added to an existing steel girder. The new process will enable Tata Steel to integrate photovoltaics in building materials in volume for a moderate cost.
It's the world's largest dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) module and the result of the companies' joint research project consisting of 30 scientists and engineers at a laboratory in Wales, according to Tata.
The girder is only the first step in a plan to develop a long list of building-integrated photovoltaics that include roofs, facades, and windows. The material could even be developed to integrate with auto materials, according to Tata.
Of course, Tata and Dyesol are just two of many companies developing building-integrated photovoltaics in recent years. Already available, or on the horizon for commercial builders and consumers, are solar roof tiles, roof wrapping, facades, windows, skylights, and even mirrors.
Flexible thin-film solar cells are also being incorporated into personal items like backpacks, laptop cases, and luggage as a way to offer consumers on-the-go charging sources for portable electronic devices.
The prototype girder was made as one continuous length of coated steel 10 feet long that can capture both direct and diffuse light. The solar cells were "printed" directly onto the steel as opposed to being a composite of multiple cells added to an existing steel girder. The new process will enable Tata Steel to integrate photovoltaics in building materials in volume for a moderate cost.
It's the world's largest dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) module and the result of the companies' joint research project consisting of 30 scientists and engineers at a laboratory in Wales, according to Tata.
The girder is only the first step in a plan to develop a long list of building-integrated photovoltaics that include roofs, facades, and windows. The material could even be developed to integrate with auto materials, according to Tata.
Of course, Tata and Dyesol are just two of many companies developing building-integrated photovoltaics in recent years. Already available, or on the horizon for commercial builders and consumers, are solar roof tiles, roof wrapping, facades, windows, skylights, and even mirrors.
Flexible thin-film solar cells are also being incorporated into personal items like backpacks, laptop cases, and luggage as a way to offer consumers on-the-go charging sources for portable electronic devices.
Hotel Filling Up For Big Event
ALBERT LEA, Minn -- While the City of Albert Lea will be coated with red starting tomorrow, hotels in the area will be seeing a lot of green.
With the 22nd National Red Power Round Up starting tomorrow, people have begun to arrive in Albert Lea.
Organizers are expecting around or over twenty-thousand people to be in town this weekend.
With all the extra people in town, it has left hotel rooms at a premium.
“We've been sold out since February on this day,” Albert Lea Comfort Inn General Manager Karen Davis said. “It's going to bring in; I would say around twenty-thousand people to the community. Were hoping the restaurants are ready and full staffed."
Davis says that although rooms are filled up, it will be frustrating to turn people away because they are full.
With the 22nd National Red Power Round Up starting tomorrow, people have begun to arrive in Albert Lea.
Organizers are expecting around or over twenty-thousand people to be in town this weekend.
With all the extra people in town, it has left hotel rooms at a premium.
“We've been sold out since February on this day,” Albert Lea Comfort Inn General Manager Karen Davis said. “It's going to bring in; I would say around twenty-thousand people to the community. Were hoping the restaurants are ready and full staffed."
Davis says that although rooms are filled up, it will be frustrating to turn people away because they are full.
2011年6月20日星期一
Labconco's Mobile Bench Provides Auxiliary Bench
The Mobile Bench by Labconco, Kansas City, MO provides bench space and transports equipment from lab to lab. It is made of durable and chemical-resistant epoxy-coated 18-gauge welded steel frames of 2" square tubing and are painted with tough, corrosion-resistant, dry powder epoxy in Glacier White. The Mobile Bench also features 5" diameter, non-marking polyurethane casters that absorb vibration over rough, uneven floors for stability and quiet operation. The work surface is fiber board with high pressure melamine laminate that is 1.1" thick.
The Mobile Bench is strong and supports loads up to 540 pounds. The handles have ergonomic, molded plastic grips and an ID tag ensures the bench makes a round trip back to you. The Mobile Bench dimensions are 48.0 x 24.0 x 37.2" high and comes to you fully assembled, ready to roll.
Labconco's Mobile Bench, as with all our other Carts and Benches, comes with a lifetime guarantee. If your bench does not live up to your expectations, we will replace it free.
The Mobile Bench is strong and supports loads up to 540 pounds. The handles have ergonomic, molded plastic grips and an ID tag ensures the bench makes a round trip back to you. The Mobile Bench dimensions are 48.0 x 24.0 x 37.2" high and comes to you fully assembled, ready to roll.
Labconco's Mobile Bench, as with all our other Carts and Benches, comes with a lifetime guarantee. If your bench does not live up to your expectations, we will replace it free.
Rescue Pets of the Week
Thinking about adding a furry friend to your family? Consider rescuing a pet from an LA Animal Services shelter.
The North Central Division serves Hollywood residents seeking to adopt and picks up lost pets in the area.
The pets included in our photo gallery are just a sample of the many that are available in their online adopt-a-pet database.
Rescue Pets: Inexpensive and Easy
The maximum cost for a resident to adopt a dog is $122. The maximum for a cat is $76. The fee includes vaccinations, spaying/neutering, microchipping and, for dogs, the first year license fee.
The shelter is at 3201 Lacy Street in Los Angeles.
Hours of operation: Tuesdays through Fridays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The North Central Division serves Hollywood residents seeking to adopt and picks up lost pets in the area.
The pets included in our photo gallery are just a sample of the many that are available in their online adopt-a-pet database.
Rescue Pets: Inexpensive and Easy
The maximum cost for a resident to adopt a dog is $122. The maximum for a cat is $76. The fee includes vaccinations, spaying/neutering, microchipping and, for dogs, the first year license fee.
The shelter is at 3201 Lacy Street in Los Angeles.
Hours of operation: Tuesdays through Fridays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2011年6月14日星期二
Performing Live at Cowboys Grand Opening Party
Cowboys is BACK! The legend continues… this Stampede 2011. In true Cowboys fashion, the Cowboys Stampede Tent will open with a killer line-up featuring chart-topping Flo Rida, Canadian hip hop icon Classified, electro-hip hop / pop new-comers Candy Coated Killahz and Calgary’s own Drum N DJ.
Over the last two years, Flo Rida has become a chart fixture thanks to the blockbuster singles “Low (feat. T-Pain),” “Right Round,” and his most recent Top 10 hit, the David Guetta-produced “Club Can’t Handle Me.” He’s also broken down barriers by uniting millions of fans of pop, hip-hop, and club music around the world and established himself as an international, genre-busting superstar in the process. Flo brings his experiences traveling the globe to his third album, Only One Flo (Part 1).
Don’t miss Flo Rida with Classified, Candy Coated Killahz and Drum N DJ as they kick-off Stampede at the Cowboys Stampede Tent on Tuesday, July 5. Tickets available at Ticketmaster.ca or charge by phone 1-855-985-5000. Must be 18 years of age or older to attend.
Over the last two years, Flo Rida has become a chart fixture thanks to the blockbuster singles “Low (feat. T-Pain),” “Right Round,” and his most recent Top 10 hit, the David Guetta-produced “Club Can’t Handle Me.” He’s also broken down barriers by uniting millions of fans of pop, hip-hop, and club music around the world and established himself as an international, genre-busting superstar in the process. Flo brings his experiences traveling the globe to his third album, Only One Flo (Part 1).
Don’t miss Flo Rida with Classified, Candy Coated Killahz and Drum N DJ as they kick-off Stampede at the Cowboys Stampede Tent on Tuesday, July 5. Tickets available at Ticketmaster.ca or charge by phone 1-855-985-5000. Must be 18 years of age or older to attend.
Device could stop return of aneurysms
SCIENTISTS have discovered that a new device that treats potentially fatal brain aneurysms could help prevent them coming back.
The Edinburgh University researchers have found that treating the aneurysms with specially coated platinum coils can reduce their recurrence.
Each year, around 5000 people in the UK suffer a burst brain aneurysm - a blister on the wall of an artery that can cause life-threatening haemorrhages.
The team studied the effect of coated coils in 500 patients from the UK, Europe, Australia, South America and the USA.
The findings showed that this new form of coil significantly reduced the recurrence of aneurysms after 18 months from 33 per cent to 24 per cent.
Dr Phil White, consultant neuroradiologist and honorary reader at Edinburgh University, said: "Our study shows that the non-invasive techniques for treating brain aneurysms are getting better.
"Hydrogel coated coils offer an improved treatment for ruptured aneurysms and coiling has a faster recovery than having to have brain surgery and comes with less risk as well, which is great news."
The Edinburgh University researchers have found that treating the aneurysms with specially coated platinum coils can reduce their recurrence.
Each year, around 5000 people in the UK suffer a burst brain aneurysm - a blister on the wall of an artery that can cause life-threatening haemorrhages.
The team studied the effect of coated coils in 500 patients from the UK, Europe, Australia, South America and the USA.
The findings showed that this new form of coil significantly reduced the recurrence of aneurysms after 18 months from 33 per cent to 24 per cent.
Dr Phil White, consultant neuroradiologist and honorary reader at Edinburgh University, said: "Our study shows that the non-invasive techniques for treating brain aneurysms are getting better.
"Hydrogel coated coils offer an improved treatment for ruptured aneurysms and coiling has a faster recovery than having to have brain surgery and comes with less risk as well, which is great news."
2011年6月12日星期日
Large crowds attend first of the Green Days on Saturday
There were large crowds at the first of the Green Days to see the beginning of the 45th Bedford Park Festival. Despite dark clouds and predictions of rain, it remained dry with even occasional glimpses of sunshine.
The proceedings kicked off with a special ceremony involving two of the area’s best-loved personalities.
Richard Briers, who has lived in the area for over 40 years, made a presentation to Mr Lad, who ran the newsagents on Bedford Corner for more than 30 years. He was given a painting of the shop by the Bedford Park Society’s president, Nigel Woolner.
The newsagents closed just before Christmas, when its lease ran out. This was the first time Mr Lad, whose real name is Kishur Mistry, has returned to Chiswick.
In another farewell to Chiswick, the world-famous Rambert Dance Company performed on the festival stage, Rambert’s youth dancers, Quicksilver Dance, performed on the Green on the Saturday afternoon. The Company is leaving the area soon after being based here for 40 years.
And in Strictly Rambert, on Wednesday June 15th, the company’s artistic director, Mark Baldwin, will discuss its distinguished past, new repertoire and exciting future plans, with video clips.
Richard Briers then judged the children’s fancy dress competition at the Green Days fete, which attracts thousands of people each year with its mix of live music, children’s events, stalls, refreshments, Craft Fair and funfair. The crowds were well up to typical levels despite the uncertain weather and there was the usual scattering of well known faces including this year Michael Gambon, a regular visitor to the event.
On the Sunday, a church service on the Green is followed at noon by WorldBusk, aiming to beat the record for the world’s biggest combined busk.
Green Days weekend opens a fortnight of community and arts events in aid of charities and St Michael & All Angels Church, supported by dozens of local businesses. Events include comedy, opera, dance, concerts, exhibitions, talks and open gardens.
Another Chiswick star, West End diva Rosie Ashe, who’s appeared in Les Miserables, Mary Poppins and the original production of Phantom of the Opera, will sing her favourite songs from the world’s great musicals at the Tabard Theatre. She’ll be accompanied by Jonathan Cohen, from TV’s Play Away and Music Time.
Other stars of this year’s Festival include Covent Garden tenor Justin Lavender; poet and biographer Blake Morris; actor Dudley Sutton (best-known as Tinker in TV’s Lovejoy); and the London Tango Quintet. The vicar of St Michael’s, Father Kevin Morris, will take the title role in The Mikado, performed by one of the brightest young opera companies Opera Novella, featuring Sally-Ann Stephenson and other singers from the D’Oyly Carte.
Oscar-winner Colin Firth and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star Kevin McNally, who both live in Chiswick, are on the jury for a new film-making competition to encourage young talent. The winning films will be screened on the last night, as part of the Bedford Park Film Festival, featuring entertaining clips set in Chiswick.
“We’ve got a fantastic range of entertainment this year, with something for everyone” says Torin Douglas, the Festival co-ordinator. “And to encourage people to make a real fortnight of it, we’ve introduced a special offer – 10 per cent off, if you buy any 10 tickets for Festival events.”
The proceedings kicked off with a special ceremony involving two of the area’s best-loved personalities.
Richard Briers, who has lived in the area for over 40 years, made a presentation to Mr Lad, who ran the newsagents on Bedford Corner for more than 30 years. He was given a painting of the shop by the Bedford Park Society’s president, Nigel Woolner.
The newsagents closed just before Christmas, when its lease ran out. This was the first time Mr Lad, whose real name is Kishur Mistry, has returned to Chiswick.
In another farewell to Chiswick, the world-famous Rambert Dance Company performed on the festival stage, Rambert’s youth dancers, Quicksilver Dance, performed on the Green on the Saturday afternoon. The Company is leaving the area soon after being based here for 40 years.
And in Strictly Rambert, on Wednesday June 15th, the company’s artistic director, Mark Baldwin, will discuss its distinguished past, new repertoire and exciting future plans, with video clips.
Richard Briers then judged the children’s fancy dress competition at the Green Days fete, which attracts thousands of people each year with its mix of live music, children’s events, stalls, refreshments, Craft Fair and funfair. The crowds were well up to typical levels despite the uncertain weather and there was the usual scattering of well known faces including this year Michael Gambon, a regular visitor to the event.
On the Sunday, a church service on the Green is followed at noon by WorldBusk, aiming to beat the record for the world’s biggest combined busk.
Green Days weekend opens a fortnight of community and arts events in aid of charities and St Michael & All Angels Church, supported by dozens of local businesses. Events include comedy, opera, dance, concerts, exhibitions, talks and open gardens.
Another Chiswick star, West End diva Rosie Ashe, who’s appeared in Les Miserables, Mary Poppins and the original production of Phantom of the Opera, will sing her favourite songs from the world’s great musicals at the Tabard Theatre. She’ll be accompanied by Jonathan Cohen, from TV’s Play Away and Music Time.
Other stars of this year’s Festival include Covent Garden tenor Justin Lavender; poet and biographer Blake Morris; actor Dudley Sutton (best-known as Tinker in TV’s Lovejoy); and the London Tango Quintet. The vicar of St Michael’s, Father Kevin Morris, will take the title role in The Mikado, performed by one of the brightest young opera companies Opera Novella, featuring Sally-Ann Stephenson and other singers from the D’Oyly Carte.
Oscar-winner Colin Firth and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star Kevin McNally, who both live in Chiswick, are on the jury for a new film-making competition to encourage young talent. The winning films will be screened on the last night, as part of the Bedford Park Film Festival, featuring entertaining clips set in Chiswick.
“We’ve got a fantastic range of entertainment this year, with something for everyone” says Torin Douglas, the Festival co-ordinator. “And to encourage people to make a real fortnight of it, we’ve introduced a special offer – 10 per cent off, if you buy any 10 tickets for Festival events.”
SUGAR-COATED, BUT DEALS COULD TURN SOUR
A life in the limelight – but an afterlife in the shadows is always just one serious injury away.
So who can blame the current crop of young stars who are being bought and sold for enormous sums for reaching out to grab fortune and fame at the earliest opportunity?
Phil Jones, 19, is the latest to be lined up. A £20 million move from Blackburn Rovers to Manchester United should be finalised, after a hiccup, this week.
Yet he has been a first-team player for little more than a year.
He made his debut against Chelsea in March 2010 and has started just seven Premier League games for Rovers. Now he is set to be one of the most expensive teenage players in the country.
He follows Jordan Henderson, 20, another £20m buy, who made the switch from Sunderland to Liverpool last week.
Henderson broke into the Sunderland side in 2009-10 with only a handful of appearances and a loan spell at Coventry behind him. So after barely two full seasons as a Sunderland first-teamer, he is in the £20m club too.
Perhaps even more remarkably, Andy Carroll moved from Newcastle to Liverpool in January for £35m after less than half a season as a Premier League regular.
Connor Wickham, Ipswich’s precocious 18-year-old forward, is just about old enough to vote, but could soon be signing £10m transfer forms. Sunderland have apparently made an offer for him. Liverpool are hovering.
Whatever happened to the old-fashioned notion of bright, young players serving their time – let’s call it an apprenticeship – before being valued so highly?
So who can blame the current crop of young stars who are being bought and sold for enormous sums for reaching out to grab fortune and fame at the earliest opportunity?
Phil Jones, 19, is the latest to be lined up. A £20 million move from Blackburn Rovers to Manchester United should be finalised, after a hiccup, this week.
Yet he has been a first-team player for little more than a year.
He made his debut against Chelsea in March 2010 and has started just seven Premier League games for Rovers. Now he is set to be one of the most expensive teenage players in the country.
He follows Jordan Henderson, 20, another £20m buy, who made the switch from Sunderland to Liverpool last week.
Henderson broke into the Sunderland side in 2009-10 with only a handful of appearances and a loan spell at Coventry behind him. So after barely two full seasons as a Sunderland first-teamer, he is in the £20m club too.
Perhaps even more remarkably, Andy Carroll moved from Newcastle to Liverpool in January for £35m after less than half a season as a Premier League regular.
Connor Wickham, Ipswich’s precocious 18-year-old forward, is just about old enough to vote, but could soon be signing £10m transfer forms. Sunderland have apparently made an offer for him. Liverpool are hovering.
Whatever happened to the old-fashioned notion of bright, young players serving their time – let’s call it an apprenticeship – before being valued so highly?
NR Agarwal Industries appears to be an undervalued paper company
NR Agarwal Industries appears to be an undervalued paper company with decent financials and strong growth prospects from capacity additions in higher margin writing paper. It could get re-rated in line with other paper firms following the AP Paper deal.
BUSINESS
NRAL is the largest producer of coated duplex board in the western region and is second only to ITC in India. Almost all leading FMCG and pharma companies are its clients. Unlike its peers, NRAL uses imported waste paper as raw material.
GROWTH DRIVERS
Nearly 80% of its 1,68,000-tonne per annum production capacity is for duplex boards and the rest for newsprint. By October 2011, it will add 1,09,500 tonne of capacity for new products printing and writing paper. It owns 100 acres land in Vapi valued at Rs 200 crore which can be used for future expansion.
FINANCIALS
While, NRAL's net sales in FY11 grew to Rs 467 crore at a CAGR of 14.5%, in last three years its net profit grew at a CAGR of 45.3%. Overall operating margin of 11.2% is likely to improve from October thanks to the 17-18% operating margins from writing and printing paper business.
Considering a 15% growth in current business thanks to added capacities, against 24% growth last year top line would rise to Rs 630 crore in FY12. Assuming a conservative net profit margin of 5.5%, the earning per share will increase 24% to Rs 20.4. Earnings growth will be faster in FY13 , the first full year of expanded capacity. Assuming realisation at the FY11 level of Rs 30,000 per tonne and capacity utilisation at 95%, FY13 sales would be around Rs 800 crore. At a slightly higher net margin of 6% the EPS would be Rs 26.6.
VALUATIONS
The scrip is currently trading at just two times its expected FY13 earnings. On a trailing 12-month basis, it is trading at a P/E of 3.4, which is lower than that of its peers like Rainbow Papers, JK Papers and West Coast.
BUSINESS
NRAL is the largest producer of coated duplex board in the western region and is second only to ITC in India. Almost all leading FMCG and pharma companies are its clients. Unlike its peers, NRAL uses imported waste paper as raw material.
GROWTH DRIVERS
Nearly 80% of its 1,68,000-tonne per annum production capacity is for duplex boards and the rest for newsprint. By October 2011, it will add 1,09,500 tonne of capacity for new products printing and writing paper. It owns 100 acres land in Vapi valued at Rs 200 crore which can be used for future expansion.
FINANCIALS
While, NRAL's net sales in FY11 grew to Rs 467 crore at a CAGR of 14.5%, in last three years its net profit grew at a CAGR of 45.3%. Overall operating margin of 11.2% is likely to improve from October thanks to the 17-18% operating margins from writing and printing paper business.
Considering a 15% growth in current business thanks to added capacities, against 24% growth last year top line would rise to Rs 630 crore in FY12. Assuming a conservative net profit margin of 5.5%, the earning per share will increase 24% to Rs 20.4. Earnings growth will be faster in FY13 , the first full year of expanded capacity. Assuming realisation at the FY11 level of Rs 30,000 per tonne and capacity utilisation at 95%, FY13 sales would be around Rs 800 crore. At a slightly higher net margin of 6% the EPS would be Rs 26.6.
VALUATIONS
The scrip is currently trading at just two times its expected FY13 earnings. On a trailing 12-month basis, it is trading at a P/E of 3.4, which is lower than that of its peers like Rainbow Papers, JK Papers and West Coast.
2011年6月8日星期三
Chilean volcano disrupts flights
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Stiff winds blew ash from a Chilean volcano Tuesday in a widening arc across Argentina to the capital, grounding most air travel in the country for much of the day.
Airborne ash can severely damage jet engines, and the state-owned airlines Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral canceled all flights.
At least six international carriers also suspended flights between Buenos Aires and cities in the United States, Europe, and South America, and flights from Chile over Argentine territory also were suspended.
Later Tuesday afternoon, Aerolineas announced it was slowly resuming flights from Buenos Aires to the north and east, areas beyond the reach of the thickest part of the plume. Chile's LAN Air Lines also was resuming flights over Argentine territory.
Airports closer to the volcano were ordered closed through at least Sunday.
Geologists said the Cordon Caulle volcano could keep erupting for weeks.
The ash cloud was blowing well to the south and away from Chile's capital, Santiago, but as a precaution, at least four international carriers there also suspended flights across Argentina to Buenos Aires, Brazil, Uruguay, and Europe.
The closest major city to the volcano is San Carlos de Bariloche, just over the border in Argentina, where abrasive soot coated slopes in a string of resorts that depend on the winter ski season, opening in less than two weeks.
The plume then stretched northeast before curving east, dumping ash over Argentina's vast ranchlands before reaching the capital and even Paraguay, north of Argentina.
Transportation officials met with representatives of Argentina's meteorological service, civil aviation board, and airport regulator to figure out where the ash cloud would move next and what to do about it, the transportation department said in a statement.
Closer to the volcano, strong rains that began Monday night increased the danger of rivers getting clogged with ash and then overflowing in flash floods. Evacuations were expanding, with more than 4,000 people already fleeing their homes.
Airborne ash can severely damage jet engines, and the state-owned airlines Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral canceled all flights.
At least six international carriers also suspended flights between Buenos Aires and cities in the United States, Europe, and South America, and flights from Chile over Argentine territory also were suspended.
Later Tuesday afternoon, Aerolineas announced it was slowly resuming flights from Buenos Aires to the north and east, areas beyond the reach of the thickest part of the plume. Chile's LAN Air Lines also was resuming flights over Argentine territory.
Airports closer to the volcano were ordered closed through at least Sunday.
Geologists said the Cordon Caulle volcano could keep erupting for weeks.
The ash cloud was blowing well to the south and away from Chile's capital, Santiago, but as a precaution, at least four international carriers there also suspended flights across Argentina to Buenos Aires, Brazil, Uruguay, and Europe.
The closest major city to the volcano is San Carlos de Bariloche, just over the border in Argentina, where abrasive soot coated slopes in a string of resorts that depend on the winter ski season, opening in less than two weeks.
The plume then stretched northeast before curving east, dumping ash over Argentina's vast ranchlands before reaching the capital and even Paraguay, north of Argentina.
Transportation officials met with representatives of Argentina's meteorological service, civil aviation board, and airport regulator to figure out where the ash cloud would move next and what to do about it, the transportation department said in a statement.
Closer to the volcano, strong rains that began Monday night increased the danger of rivers getting clogged with ash and then overflowing in flash floods. Evacuations were expanding, with more than 4,000 people already fleeing their homes.
City of Odessa Starts Seal Coating 6/8/11
The City of Odessa will begin its annual street seal coat project as early as Wednesday, June 8. Ronald R. Wagner Co. of Kendalia, Texas has been contracted to seal coat approximately 28 miles of streets. The work is expected to be complete by July 29.
Major streets to be seal coated include:
* Third Street from County Road West to Grant Street.
* Murphy from west City limits to Grant Street.
* Clements from County Road West to Grant Street.
* Crane Avenue from Clements to Third Street.
A map with a complete showing of streets to be seal coated, including blocks of residential streets, is available on the City’s website, odessa-tx.gov.
During the actual seal coating process the street will be closed for approximately an hour and then immediately reopened to traffic. Parents should keep children away from seal coat work areas.
Motorists are advised to use caution in the area of construction, encouraged to use alternative routes when possible and drive less than 20 miles per hour on freshly seal coated streets. Residents should park their vehicles as far away as possible when the seal coat operation is underway on their street.
Seal Coat work consists of the application of a layer of liquid asphalt followed by a layer of aggregate rolled into the surface. The purpose of seal coating is to seal cracks in the surface to prevent moisture from entering the pavement structure and provide a new wear surface thereby extending the life of the pavement.
Major streets to be seal coated include:
* Third Street from County Road West to Grant Street.
* Murphy from west City limits to Grant Street.
* Clements from County Road West to Grant Street.
* Crane Avenue from Clements to Third Street.
A map with a complete showing of streets to be seal coated, including blocks of residential streets, is available on the City’s website, odessa-tx.gov.
During the actual seal coating process the street will be closed for approximately an hour and then immediately reopened to traffic. Parents should keep children away from seal coat work areas.
Motorists are advised to use caution in the area of construction, encouraged to use alternative routes when possible and drive less than 20 miles per hour on freshly seal coated streets. Residents should park their vehicles as far away as possible when the seal coat operation is underway on their street.
Seal Coat work consists of the application of a layer of liquid asphalt followed by a layer of aggregate rolled into the surface. The purpose of seal coating is to seal cracks in the surface to prevent moisture from entering the pavement structure and provide a new wear surface thereby extending the life of the pavement.
2011年6月6日星期一
Chilean volcano grounds flights, coats ski slopes
An erupting Chilean volcano sent a towering plume of ash across South America on Monday, forcing thousands from their homes, grounding airline flights in southern Argentina and coating ski resorts with a gritty layer of dust instead of snow.
Booming explosions echoed across the Andes as toxic gases belched up from a three-mile-long (five-kilometer long) fissure in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic complex — a ridge between two craters just west of the Chilean-Argentine border that began erupting Saturday.
Winds blew a six-mile-high (10-kilometer-high) cloud of ash all the way to the Atlantic Ocean and even into southern Buenos Aires province, hundreds of miles to the northeast.
Authorities in Chile went house to house, trying to persuade stragglers near the volcano to leave because of an increasing danger of toxic gas and flash floods. By Monday, about 4,000 people had been evacuated from more than 22 communities. They began fleeing as swarms of earthquakes Saturday heralded the eruption and hundreds more fled Monday to shelters farther away.
Some refused to leave, wanting to protect their homes and livestock. Chile's verdant lakes region is a center for dairy farming, with more than 9,000 cows and sheep.
Deputy Interior Minister Rodrigo Ubilla said about 50 families in the Rininahue area refused to abandon their homes.
"Everything is prepared with shelter and transportation for them to immediately leave the danger zone," added Vicente Nunez, director of Chile's emergency preparedness office, urging them to leave.
Just north of the complex of volcanoes, the city of Futrono and the communities of Lago Ranco and Entre Rios were particularly vulnerable to flash floods. Some people also refused to leave Mantilhue, along the Rio Bueno, or "Good River," just six miles (10 kilometers) from the eruption. And while the evacuation order wasn't yet mandatory, a group of Mapuche Indians said they would seek the regional governor's authorization to enter the area to pray for the volcano to stop erupting.
Enrique Valdivieso, the director of Chile's National Geology and Mines Service, said the fissure was belching toxic gases and material that could clog rivers and force them to overflow.
Spectacular displays of lightning flashed in the volcanic clouds during the weekend, and while the amount of ash falling east of the volcano subsided significantly by Monday, experts said it was too early to predict how long it will take before the volcano falls silent.
Volcanic dust coated ski slopes above San Carlos de Bariloche and Villa la Angostura two weeks before the official start of the winter skiing season. The resorts' trade group said it was too early to say how it would affect the local economy, but for now, residents were told to stay indoors and tourists were asked not to come.
The Cordon Caulle is nearly 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) south of Santiago, in Chile's lakes region, just west of Bariloche. Authorities went on alert before the eruption Saturday when as many as 240 tremors an hour struck the region.
The volcano's last major eruption was in 1960, shortly after a 9.5 magnitude earthquake, the most powerful in recorded history, struck Chile.
Some scientists have said that last year's 8.8 quake in Chile increased the likelihood of volcanic activity due to shifts in pressure along the Earth's tectonic plates.
The ash cloud first blew over Argentina and then circled back over Chile on Sunday. By Monday, however, prevailing winds had spread the ash eastward as far as Bahia Blanca, in southern Buenos Aires province on the Argentine coast.
During the weekend, the volcano spat out pumice rocks nearly eight inches (20 centimeters) in diameter.
Because airborne ash can severely damage jet engines, all flights between Buenos Aires and the Andean resorts of Bariloche, Esquel and Chapelco were canceled until June 12. Seven other airports in Argentina were closed through Thursday, effectively isolating the southern Patagonia region from the rest of the country. Aerolineas Argentinas also cancelled nighttime flights well to the north of the volcanos, from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile, and Mendoza, Argentina, as a precaution.
LAN airlines suspended more than 35 flights from Chile to southern Argentina, and some highways in Argentina also were closed.
Across Argentina's southern midsection, schools were closed, routine government work was suspended and elective surgery were canceled as well.
Also closed was the nearby border crossing of Cardenal Samore, where a twisting mountain road climbs through stunning arid valleys on the Argentina side before dropping through lush green forests and fields in Chile. Even when skies cleared in places Monday, the area was draped in an abrasive gray blanket.
The 11-mile-long (17-kilometer-long) Cordon Caulle rises 5,900-feet (1,800 meters) above sea level between the Pueyehue and Nevada volcanoes, above a connected complex of molten rock. Chile has more than 3,000 volcanoes along its Andean spine, and 500 of these are considered geologically active. About 60 Of these have erupted in the last 450 years.
Booming explosions echoed across the Andes as toxic gases belched up from a three-mile-long (five-kilometer long) fissure in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic complex — a ridge between two craters just west of the Chilean-Argentine border that began erupting Saturday.
Winds blew a six-mile-high (10-kilometer-high) cloud of ash all the way to the Atlantic Ocean and even into southern Buenos Aires province, hundreds of miles to the northeast.
Authorities in Chile went house to house, trying to persuade stragglers near the volcano to leave because of an increasing danger of toxic gas and flash floods. By Monday, about 4,000 people had been evacuated from more than 22 communities. They began fleeing as swarms of earthquakes Saturday heralded the eruption and hundreds more fled Monday to shelters farther away.
Some refused to leave, wanting to protect their homes and livestock. Chile's verdant lakes region is a center for dairy farming, with more than 9,000 cows and sheep.
Deputy Interior Minister Rodrigo Ubilla said about 50 families in the Rininahue area refused to abandon their homes.
"Everything is prepared with shelter and transportation for them to immediately leave the danger zone," added Vicente Nunez, director of Chile's emergency preparedness office, urging them to leave.
Just north of the complex of volcanoes, the city of Futrono and the communities of Lago Ranco and Entre Rios were particularly vulnerable to flash floods. Some people also refused to leave Mantilhue, along the Rio Bueno, or "Good River," just six miles (10 kilometers) from the eruption. And while the evacuation order wasn't yet mandatory, a group of Mapuche Indians said they would seek the regional governor's authorization to enter the area to pray for the volcano to stop erupting.
Enrique Valdivieso, the director of Chile's National Geology and Mines Service, said the fissure was belching toxic gases and material that could clog rivers and force them to overflow.
Spectacular displays of lightning flashed in the volcanic clouds during the weekend, and while the amount of ash falling east of the volcano subsided significantly by Monday, experts said it was too early to predict how long it will take before the volcano falls silent.
Volcanic dust coated ski slopes above San Carlos de Bariloche and Villa la Angostura two weeks before the official start of the winter skiing season. The resorts' trade group said it was too early to say how it would affect the local economy, but for now, residents were told to stay indoors and tourists were asked not to come.
The Cordon Caulle is nearly 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) south of Santiago, in Chile's lakes region, just west of Bariloche. Authorities went on alert before the eruption Saturday when as many as 240 tremors an hour struck the region.
The volcano's last major eruption was in 1960, shortly after a 9.5 magnitude earthquake, the most powerful in recorded history, struck Chile.
Some scientists have said that last year's 8.8 quake in Chile increased the likelihood of volcanic activity due to shifts in pressure along the Earth's tectonic plates.
The ash cloud first blew over Argentina and then circled back over Chile on Sunday. By Monday, however, prevailing winds had spread the ash eastward as far as Bahia Blanca, in southern Buenos Aires province on the Argentine coast.
During the weekend, the volcano spat out pumice rocks nearly eight inches (20 centimeters) in diameter.
Because airborne ash can severely damage jet engines, all flights between Buenos Aires and the Andean resorts of Bariloche, Esquel and Chapelco were canceled until June 12. Seven other airports in Argentina were closed through Thursday, effectively isolating the southern Patagonia region from the rest of the country. Aerolineas Argentinas also cancelled nighttime flights well to the north of the volcanos, from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile, and Mendoza, Argentina, as a precaution.
LAN airlines suspended more than 35 flights from Chile to southern Argentina, and some highways in Argentina also were closed.
Across Argentina's southern midsection, schools were closed, routine government work was suspended and elective surgery were canceled as well.
Also closed was the nearby border crossing of Cardenal Samore, where a twisting mountain road climbs through stunning arid valleys on the Argentina side before dropping through lush green forests and fields in Chile. Even when skies cleared in places Monday, the area was draped in an abrasive gray blanket.
The 11-mile-long (17-kilometer-long) Cordon Caulle rises 5,900-feet (1,800 meters) above sea level between the Pueyehue and Nevada volcanoes, above a connected complex of molten rock. Chile has more than 3,000 volcanoes along its Andean spine, and 500 of these are considered geologically active. About 60 Of these have erupted in the last 450 years.
Weiler SABER TOOTH(TM) Ceramic Abrasive Product Brochure
Detailed information on Weiler Corporation's SABER TOOTH line of ceramic abrasives is available by requesting a copy of their 4-page color brochure. The Saber Tooth provides cool, fast-cutting action on aluminum, stainless steel, Inconel, titanium and other hard-to-grind metals, resulting in lower grinding and finishing costs. Saber Tooth ceramic abrasives are fast cutting and have a long life due to an aggressive self-sharpening ceramic grain. A specially formulated grinding aid prevents dulling and glazing of grain and Saber Tooth products are designed to work with heat sensitive materials for cool-cutting - protecting high value parts from heat discoloration.
Weiler's Saber Tooth flap discs grind and finish in one step, resulting in fewer changeovers and increased productivity - the ideal choice when weld blending, grinding, deburring, deflashing, surface finishing, or edge chamfering on hard to grind metals. Both the standard angled style phenolic back and the high density flat style phenolic back Saber Tooth flap discs are available in 4-1/2" and 7" sizes. In addition, Weiler provides the only ceramic trimmable backed disc in the marketplace. The 4-1/2" trimmable Saber Tooth's innovative design enables the operator to reduce the diameter of the backing to extend disc life. The trimmable backing also provides high flexibility, enabling access to hard-to-reach areas. The performance-engineered non-marking trimmable backing will not damage the work-piece, resulting in less re-work and scrap.
In addition to the popular Saber Tooth standard angled style flap disc, Weiler offers ceramic grain high density flap discs, blending discs, resin fiber discs and belts.
Saber Tooth blending discs are available in 2" and 3" diameter, with metal hub or plastic buttons in grit sizes of 36, 60 and 80. These cloth-backed coated abrasive discs are ideal for a wide range of light fabrication, repair and maintenance applications. The Saber Tooth resin fiber discs are designed for all-purpose weld blending, grinding, surface preparation and finishing.
Weiler's Saber Tooth flap discs grind and finish in one step, resulting in fewer changeovers and increased productivity - the ideal choice when weld blending, grinding, deburring, deflashing, surface finishing, or edge chamfering on hard to grind metals. Both the standard angled style phenolic back and the high density flat style phenolic back Saber Tooth flap discs are available in 4-1/2" and 7" sizes. In addition, Weiler provides the only ceramic trimmable backed disc in the marketplace. The 4-1/2" trimmable Saber Tooth's innovative design enables the operator to reduce the diameter of the backing to extend disc life. The trimmable backing also provides high flexibility, enabling access to hard-to-reach areas. The performance-engineered non-marking trimmable backing will not damage the work-piece, resulting in less re-work and scrap.
In addition to the popular Saber Tooth standard angled style flap disc, Weiler offers ceramic grain high density flap discs, blending discs, resin fiber discs and belts.
Saber Tooth blending discs are available in 2" and 3" diameter, with metal hub or plastic buttons in grit sizes of 36, 60 and 80. These cloth-backed coated abrasive discs are ideal for a wide range of light fabrication, repair and maintenance applications. The Saber Tooth resin fiber discs are designed for all-purpose weld blending, grinding, surface preparation and finishing.
2011年6月1日星期三
James: Unorthodox Rob Ford coated in Teflon
The first thing to acknowledge about Mayor Rob Ford is that the normal rules don’t apply with this politician.
He doesn’t seem to care much about his image, speaks in absolutes, and contradicts himself when he needs to. And, like the one-time Bad Boy mayor Mel Lastman, Ford rolls on in spite of gaffes and utterances that might sink most politicians.
Ford says one thing — I’m here to respect taxpayers’ money — and does the opposite, as is the case of wasting tens of millions of dollars to stop Transit City.
He told voters he would hire 100 more police officers once he became mayor. He quickly dropped that promise after the election. And now, his appointed police watchdog, Councillor Michael Thompson, is asking Chief Bill Blair to consider chopping as many as 500 officers from the force.
He declared that all departments must tighten their budgets, had a showdown with the police chief, nipped a little off the police budget, still gave them more than the year before, and then seemed to have no problem with double-digit salary hikes for the cops. They are wary of the mayor and embrace him all at once — a massive achievement for a chief magistrate.
Ford promised to uncover vats of gravy at City Hall and do so without cutting a single service, except for maybe a few unwanted bus routes. And yet, here we are at nightly “service review” public meetings asking residents which services should go and which should stay.
A man of the people, Ford practises retail politics with the best of them. This created a connection with citizens as he returned phone calls and went to bat for them, taking on the civic bureaucracy. Citizens remembered this and elected Ford mayor.
But now, the mayor doesn’t want to listen to the many citizen advisory committees that inform politicians on a number of issues. Too many, Ford says. Too costly, he adds.
A bit of a populist, though not a classic one that enjoys the public stage, Ford purports to answer every telephone call and encourages citizens to call him. Yet he is not the glad-handing type who hasn’t seen a baby he won’t snuggle and kiss.
He trumpets accountability and transparency and simultaneously shuts out city council from major decisions like the ending of Transit City.
Ford screams against sole-source contracts, getting the best deal for taxpayers, potential corruption at City Hall and the need for open government. Then he sets up his buddies to study private-sector involvement in transit-building, without any public process his council can rely on.
In the strangest of proposals — designed, he says, to deliver as much as $3 million — Ford pushed council to let staff negotiate and approve the proposed new private-sector garbage contract, without political oversight. On that, city council rose up and saved the mayor from himself.
Ford spent 10 years on council as an outsider, rarely getting a motion approved, never fostering allies. As mayor, he is no more a consensus builder. He’d rather cuss out potential allies — as he did during the garbage privatization debate — than curry their favour.
A businessman who says he is always looking to save the taxpayer a buck, the mayor has given us the deal of the ages. With his brother, Doug, elected a rookie councillor in Etobicoke North, Toronto has two mayors for the price of one.
If you think any of the above has diminished Ford’s popularity, six months after the election, you are probably thinking this guy is a regular politician.
He doesn’t seem to care much about his image, speaks in absolutes, and contradicts himself when he needs to. And, like the one-time Bad Boy mayor Mel Lastman, Ford rolls on in spite of gaffes and utterances that might sink most politicians.
Ford says one thing — I’m here to respect taxpayers’ money — and does the opposite, as is the case of wasting tens of millions of dollars to stop Transit City.
He told voters he would hire 100 more police officers once he became mayor. He quickly dropped that promise after the election. And now, his appointed police watchdog, Councillor Michael Thompson, is asking Chief Bill Blair to consider chopping as many as 500 officers from the force.
He declared that all departments must tighten their budgets, had a showdown with the police chief, nipped a little off the police budget, still gave them more than the year before, and then seemed to have no problem with double-digit salary hikes for the cops. They are wary of the mayor and embrace him all at once — a massive achievement for a chief magistrate.
Ford promised to uncover vats of gravy at City Hall and do so without cutting a single service, except for maybe a few unwanted bus routes. And yet, here we are at nightly “service review” public meetings asking residents which services should go and which should stay.
A man of the people, Ford practises retail politics with the best of them. This created a connection with citizens as he returned phone calls and went to bat for them, taking on the civic bureaucracy. Citizens remembered this and elected Ford mayor.
But now, the mayor doesn’t want to listen to the many citizen advisory committees that inform politicians on a number of issues. Too many, Ford says. Too costly, he adds.
A bit of a populist, though not a classic one that enjoys the public stage, Ford purports to answer every telephone call and encourages citizens to call him. Yet he is not the glad-handing type who hasn’t seen a baby he won’t snuggle and kiss.
He trumpets accountability and transparency and simultaneously shuts out city council from major decisions like the ending of Transit City.
Ford screams against sole-source contracts, getting the best deal for taxpayers, potential corruption at City Hall and the need for open government. Then he sets up his buddies to study private-sector involvement in transit-building, without any public process his council can rely on.
In the strangest of proposals — designed, he says, to deliver as much as $3 million — Ford pushed council to let staff negotiate and approve the proposed new private-sector garbage contract, without political oversight. On that, city council rose up and saved the mayor from himself.
Ford spent 10 years on council as an outsider, rarely getting a motion approved, never fostering allies. As mayor, he is no more a consensus builder. He’d rather cuss out potential allies — as he did during the garbage privatization debate — than curry their favour.
A businessman who says he is always looking to save the taxpayer a buck, the mayor has given us the deal of the ages. With his brother, Doug, elected a rookie councillor in Etobicoke North, Toronto has two mayors for the price of one.
If you think any of the above has diminished Ford’s popularity, six months after the election, you are probably thinking this guy is a regular politician.
DeVilbiss Automotive Refinishing Introduces the TEKNA® QuickClean(TM) Spray Gun
Swanton, OH - DeVilbiss Automotive Refinishing announces the new TEKNA QuickClean, the latest in high performance spray guns. The spray gun features the innovative QuickClean coating. Developed for military, aerospace, and surgical applications, the coating provides fast clean up, superior durability, and high corrosion resistance.
The new TEKNA spray guns are fully coated both on the inside and outside with QuickClean Technology. The spray gun's fully protected interior provides corrosion resistance and easy cleaning to the internal passages of the gun which results in reduced paint defects. Corrosion resistance is especially important when using waterborne coatings. Not only are the new TEKNA QuickClean spray guns highly recommended for waterborne, but are also designed for solvent-based coatings as well.
The TEKNA QuickClean spray guns are equipped with the 7E7 high efficiency air cap, an additional fluid tip and needle set, a digital gauge and more. The spray guns are EPA approved and can be used in most HVLP areas.
DeVilbiss Automotive Refinishing is a premier global manufacturer and supplier in the automotive refinishing market. DeVilbiss products include a diverse range of paint booth solutions including spray equipment, disposable paint cups, air filtration, dirt mitigation products, and more. Founded in 1888, DeVilbiss Automotive Refinishing continues to innovate and meet the needs of the automotive refinish industry.
The new TEKNA spray guns are fully coated both on the inside and outside with QuickClean Technology. The spray gun's fully protected interior provides corrosion resistance and easy cleaning to the internal passages of the gun which results in reduced paint defects. Corrosion resistance is especially important when using waterborne coatings. Not only are the new TEKNA QuickClean spray guns highly recommended for waterborne, but are also designed for solvent-based coatings as well.
The TEKNA QuickClean spray guns are equipped with the 7E7 high efficiency air cap, an additional fluid tip and needle set, a digital gauge and more. The spray guns are EPA approved and can be used in most HVLP areas.
DeVilbiss Automotive Refinishing is a premier global manufacturer and supplier in the automotive refinishing market. DeVilbiss products include a diverse range of paint booth solutions including spray equipment, disposable paint cups, air filtration, dirt mitigation products, and more. Founded in 1888, DeVilbiss Automotive Refinishing continues to innovate and meet the needs of the automotive refinish industry.
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